The present invention relates to dispensing caps for containers, especially to dispensing caps having a liquid trap for confining liquids that have been separated from a contained product.
Certain flowable food products such as ketchup and mustard are sold in containers having a dispensing cap, i.e., a cap with a dispensing hole formed therein, so that the flowable product can be dispensed through that hole by inverting the container. Food products of that type, especially ketchup and mustard, contain liquids such as water as an ingredient, and during periods of non-use, i.e., periods of non-dispensing, a liquid commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cserumxe2x80x9d tends to separate from, and collect atop, a solid portion of the product.
The serum is less viscous than the flowable solid portion, so that when a container possessing such collected serum is inverted to discharge the product, the serum will reach the discharge hole before the flowable solid. The resulting dispensing of serum is considered undesirable by consumers.
It has thus been proposed to provide a dispensing cap with a trap for confining the serum. For example, such a prior art dispensing cap 100 is schematically depicted as attached to a container 101 in accompanying FIG. 7. That cap 100 includes an internally threaded sleeve 102, a downwardly facing annular sealing surface 104, a transverse wall 106 closing an upper end of the sleeve, and an integrally hinged lid 107. The transverse wall includes a discharge hole 110 that is eccentrically arranged relative to a center axis A of the cap. A serum trap 112 is formed to one side of the hole 110. An inlet end of the hole 110 is coplanar with the sealing surface 104. An outlet end of the hole 110 is disposed below an upper surface 114 of the transverse wall 106.
The purpose of the serum trap 112 is to confine serum when the container is inverted. However, it can be seen that if the upper end of the container were tipped to the left in FIG. 7 (which is a natural direction of tipping), then due to the eccentric nature of the discharge hole 110, serum will flow towards and out the hole 110. On the other hand, if the upper end of the container were tipped to the right, then most of the serum would travel into the trap 112. However, in that case, when the product is discharged through the hole 110, it would flow along the upper surface 114 of the transverse wall 106, thereby messing that surface, as well as the lid 107.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a dispensing cap configured to prevent an appreciable discharge of serum during pouring, without resulting in a messing of the cap or lid.
The present invention relates to a dispensing cap for a container. The cap comprises a base which includes a cylindrical skirt defining a longitudinal axis and having a female screw thread formed on an internal surface thereof. The skirt includes upper and lower axially spaced ends. The lower end is open for receiving a mouth of a container. A transverse wall extends across the upper end of the skirt and includes a discharge hole extending coaxially with the center axis. An abutment surface extends coaxially with the center axis and is spaced downwardly from the transverse wall for abutting against a container rim to limit axial insertion of the closure thereon. A tubular wall extends downwardly from a bottom surface of the transverse wall coaxially with the center axis for defining a downward extension of the discharge hole. The tubular wall is spaced radially inwardly of the abutment surface, whereby an annular serum trap is formed completely around the tubular wall and above the abutment surface.
Preferably, the serum trap has a volume of at least two cubic centimeters. An upper outlet end of the discharge hole is preferably disposed higher than an upper surface of the transverse wall. Preferably, a lid is integrally hinged to the base and is movable to a closed position overlying the upper surface of the transverse wall to close the discharge hole.